Beach yoga mat

ABSTRACT

A yoga mat, such as for supporting use upon a soft or loose aggregate ground surface, including each of a flexible body and a plurality of elongated support elements secured to a surface of the flexible body so that the support elements are arranged in parallel and in a transverse extending direction relative the body. The flexible body further includes a fibrous, mat or woven material, not limited to natural or synthetic. The mat can also include a thermoformed or molded polymer material which can be formed with an upper skim layer for providing the desired user support consistency. A non-slip layer or coating can be provided upon either or both of an upper or lower surface of the flexible body.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the priority of U.S. Ser. No. 63/148,281filed Feb. 11, 2021.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention discloses a yoga mat design having suitableunderside reinforcing support for use upon a sandy beach or similarloose ground condition.

BACKGROUND OF THE RELEVANT ART

The prior art is documented with examples of mat constructions,including yoga mats. A first example is the weighted mat of US2019/0030392 to Skerjanz which teaches a weighted mat including a toplayer of material, a bottom layer of material, and a series of tubes orcompartments between the top and bottom layers for holding a weightedmaterial. The top and bottom layers of material preferably include aseries of generally evenly spaced seams that connect the top and bottomlayers, which leaves a tubular space between the seams. Weightedmaterial is placed within the tubes created by the seams, and theweighted material is preferably in a particulate form that allows theweighted material to flow from one end of the tube to the other. In use,the weighted mat may simply be used as a mat or cushion on a hardsurface, or it may be applied to or draped over a particular body partduring a yoga pose or stretching exercise to intensify the effects ofgravity.

Also disclosed in the prior art is the multi-purpose mat of CN201782379U which is provided with a mat core made of pearl wool. Themultipurpose mat is described as used as a mattress, a pillow, a yogamat, a beach mat, a picnic mat, a sofa cushion, a seat cushion, a floormat, a back cushion, a chair cushion or an automobile cushion.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention discloses a yoga mat, such as for supporting useupon a loose aggregate ground surface. The mat includes each of aflexible body and a plurality of elongated support elements secured to asurface of the flexible body, with the support elements which can bearranged parallel linear or transverse extending directions relative theflexible body.

The flexible body further includes a fibrous, mat or woven material, notlimited to any natural or synthetic. The mat can also include athermoformed or molded polymer material which can be formed with anupper skim layer for providing the desired user support consistency.

A non-slip layer is provided upon either or both of an upper or lowersurface of the flexible body. The plurality of elongated supports canfurther include any lightweight material or construction not limitednatural materials such as bamboo or synthetics such as lightweightpolymers. The plurality of elongated supports further can include any ofa circular, elliptical or ellipsoidal cross sectional shape, such ashaving a hollow interior.

Other features include the elongated supports having transverseextending and elongated bar shaped elements, such as which can includeany rectangular or rounded corner pseudo-rectangular profiles in orderto provide the desired aspects of uniform pressure-resisting supportwhen placed upon the loose aggregate ground surface such as sandy beachor the like. The elongated supports, as viewed in cross section, canalso each further include a flattened upper edge profile to define amodified oval shape and which facilitates securing of the flattenedupper edge to the flexible body utilizing any type of mechanicalfastener or chemical adhesive or other joining process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the attached drawings, when read incombination with the following detailed description, wherein likereferences refer to like parts throughout the several views, and inwhich:

FIG. 1 is an upper perspective environment view of the beach yoga mataccording to a first non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a further perspective of the yoga mat of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side perspective depicting the undersideprojecting and lightweight support rods which are provided in a uniformtransverse direction and which are secured to an underside of an upperanti-slip layer;

FIG. 3A is a rolled up view of the yoga mat in a stored configuration;

FIG. 4 is a bottom inverted plan view of the beach yoga mat anddepicting the linear parallel or transverse underside secured supportrods, the arrangement of which permitting the mat to be rolled up into asmaller cross sectional cylindrical shape when not in use;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective similar to FIG. 1 of the mat; and

FIG. 6 is a one hundred and eighty degree rotated illustration of themat in FIG. 5 and best showing the underside attached support rodssecured to the mat layer from a side perspective.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The prior art is documented with examples of yoga mats, none of whichprovide the requisite degree of support or stability when places upon aloose aggregate or granular surface such as including beach sand. Thebeach yoga mat, see at 10, of the present design seeks to overcome manyof the advantages of the prior art by providing a structurallysupporting mat for use on loose or other granular surfaces not limitedto sandy beach or like location, and for which conventional mats tend tosag or buckle.

Referring to FIG. 1, an upper environmental perspective view of thebeach yoga mat is shown according to a first non-limiting embodiment. Incombination with FIG. 2, the mat, generally shown at 10, includes eachof an upper flexible body 12, against an underside of which are attacheda plurality of transverse extending and closely spaced support elements,such as including any of support rods or bars (see at 14, 16, 18, etseq.).

The flexible body 12 can, without limitation, exhibit any shape notlimited to a four sided rectangle (as shown). The body 12 is furtherconstructed from any material not limited to a fibrous, mat or wovenmaterial, not limited to natural or synthetic, and can further includean additional non-slip surface coating, treatment or additional layer,such as which can be provided upon either or both of an upper 13 orlower 15 surface (see FIG. 3) of the flexible material layer 12. Inadditional variants, the flexible body 12 is also envisioned to includeany thermoformed or molded polymer material which can be formed with anupper skim layer (see again at 13 in FIG. 1) for providing the desireduser support consistency (see individual 2 as depicted in FIG. 1).

The support rods 14, 16, 18, et seq. can include any lightweightmaterial or construction not limited natural materials such as bamboo orsynthetics such as lightweight polymers. The rods can include any of acircular, elliptical or ellipsoidal cross sectional shape, such ashaving a hollow interior and, preferably, a flattened upper edge (seefurther at 20, 22, 24, et seq. in FIG. 3).

Beyond that shown, the individually secured underside rods can includeany rectangular or rounded corner pseudo-rectangular profiles, again inorder to provide the desired aspects of uniform pressure-resistingsupport when placed upon the loose aggregate ground surface such assandy beach or the like In additional variants, the rods can besubstituted by transverse extending and elongated bar shaped elements inorder to provide the desired aspects of uniform pressure-resistingsupport when placed upon a loose aggregate ground surface such as sandybeach or the like.

As further shown in FIG. 3, the flattened upper edges of the rods aresecured such as via any of mechanical fasteners, adhesives or the like(see as representatively shown at 26, 28 and 30 interconnecting rods 14,16 and 18) to the underside of the flexible body or layer 12. Withoutlimitation, the connections 26, 28, 30, et seq. can utilize any type ofmechanical fastener, chemical/adhesive or other joining process forreliably securing the rods individually to the fabric layer. In thismanner, the mat can be rolled up during non-use (see as shown at 10′ inFIG. 3A) so that the rods align in a spiraling pattern along with thefabric or material layer 12 to provide for convenient transport orstorage. In this fashion, the lightweight support rods are provided in auniform transverse direction secured to an underside of the material andanti-slip layer.

FIG. 3 further illustrates an enlarged side perspective depicting theunderside projecting and lightweight support rods 14, 16, 18, et seq.,which are provided in a uniform transverse direction and which aresecured to an underside of the upper anti-slip and flexible layer 12. Aspreviously described, and with further reference to FIG. 3A, by thisconstruction the arrangement of the rods permit the mat (see as furtherconfigured at 10′) to be rolled up into a smaller cross sectionalcylindrical shape when not in use.

FIG. 4 is a bottom inverted plan view of the beach yoga mat anddepicting the linear parallel or transverse underside secured supportrods, again at 14, 16, 18, et seq. to the flexible layer 12, thearrangement of which again permitting the mat to be rolled up into asmaller cross sectional cylindrical shape when not in use. FIG. 5 is anenlarged perspective similar to FIG. 1 of the mat, with FIG. 6 finallyproviding a one hundred and eighty degree rotated illustration of themat in FIG. 5 and best showing the underside attached support rodssecured to the mat layer from a side perspective.

Having described my invention, other and additional preferredembodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which itpertains, and without deviating from the scope of the appended claims.The detailed description and drawings are further understood to besupportive of the disclosure, the scope of which being defined by theclaims. While some of the best modes and other embodiments for carryingout the claimed teachings have been described in detail, variousalternative designs and embodiments exist for practicing the disclosuredefined in the appended claims.

The foregoing disclosure is further understood as not intended to limitthe present disclosure to the precise forms or particular fields of usedisclosed. As such, it is contemplated that various alternateembodiments and/or modifications to the present disclosure, whetherexplicitly described or implied herein, are possible in light of thedisclosure. Having thus described embodiments of the present disclosure,a person of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that changes may bemade in form and detail without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is limited only by the claims.

In the foregoing specification, the disclosure has been described withreference to specific embodiments. However, as one skilled in the artwill appreciate, various embodiments disclosed herein can be modified orotherwise implemented in various other ways without departing from thespirit and scope of the disclosure.

Accordingly, this description is to be considered as illustrative and isfor the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the manner ofmaking and using various embodiments of the disclosure. It is to beunderstood that the forms of disclosure herein shown and described areto be taken as representative embodiments.

Equivalent elements, materials, processes or steps may be substitutedfor those representatively illustrated and described herein. Moreover,certain features of the disclosure may be utilized independently of theuse of other features, all as would be apparent to one skilled in theart after having the benefit of this description of the disclosure.

Expressions such as “including”, “comprising”, “incorporating”,“consisting of”, “have”, “is” used to describe and claim the presentdisclosure are intended to be construed in a non-exclusive manner,namely allowing for items, components or elements not explicitlydescribed also to be present. Reference to the singular is also to beconstrued to relate to the plural.

Further, various embodiments disclosed herein are to be taken in theillustrative and explanatory sense, and should in no way be construed aslimiting of the present disclosure. All joinder references (e.g.,attached, affixed, coupled, connected, and the like) are only used toaid the reader's understanding of the present disclosure, and may notcreate limitations, particularly as to the position, orientation, or useof the systems and/or methods disclosed herein. Therefore, joinderreferences, if any, are to be construed broadly. Moreover, such joinderreferences do not necessarily infer that two elements are directlyconnected to each other.

Additionally, all numerical terms, such as, but not limited to, “first”,“second”, “third”, “primary”, “secondary”, “main” or any other ordinaryand/or numerical terms, should also be taken only as identifiers, toassist the reader's understanding of the various elements, embodiments,variations and/or modifications of the present disclosure, and may notcreate any limitations, particularly as to the order, or preference, ofany element, embodiment, variation and/or modification relative to, orover, another element, embodiment, variation and/or modification.

It will also be appreciated that one or more of the elements depicted inthe drawings/figures can also be implemented in a more separated orintegrated manner, or even removed or rendered as inoperable in certaincases, as is useful in accordance with a particular application.Additionally, any signal hatches in the drawings/figures should beconsidered only as exemplary, and not limiting, unless otherwisespecifically specified.

1. A yoga mat, such as for supporting use upon a soft or loose aggregateground surface, comprising: a flexible body; and a plurality ofelongated support elements secured to a surface of said flexible body sothat said support elements are arranged in parallel and in a transverseextending direction relative said body in contact with the groundsurface.
 2. The mat according to claim 1, said flexible body furthercomprising any of a fibrous, mat or woven material, not limited tonatural or synthetic.
 3. The mat according to claim 1, said flexiblebody further comprising a thermoformed or molded polymer material whichcan be formed with an upper skim layer for providing the desired usersupport consistency.
 4. The mat according to claim 1, further comprisinga non-slip surface coating or layer provided upon either or both of anupper or lower surface of said flexible body.
 5. The mat according toclaim 1, said plurality of elongated supports further comprising anylightweight material or construction not limited natural materials suchas bamboo or synthetics such as lightweight polymers.
 6. The mataccording to claim 1, said plurality of elongated supports furthercomprising any of a circular, elliptical or ellipsoidal cross sectionalshape, such as having a hollow interior.
 7. The mat according to claim1, said plurality of elongated supports further comprising transverseextending and elongated bar shaped elements, such as which can includeany rectangular or rounded corner pseudo-rectangular profiles in orderto provide the desired aspects of uniform pressure-resisting supportwhen placed upon the soft or loose aggregate ground surface such as asandy beach.
 8. The mat according to claim 6, said plurality ofelongated supports each further comprising a flattened upper profileswhich facilitate securing to said flexible body utilizing any type ofmechanical fastener, chemical adhesive or joining process.